Reflectors or lights are conventional means to increase night time visibility of any type of vehicles that have wheels. Additionally, it is known in the prior art to mount lights or reflectors on rotating objects to achieve an aesthetic result.
Reflectors alone lack the safety feature of providing an active source of illumination, making the user more vulnerable. For reflector type devices, it is necessary to have an external light source, which must shine directly on the reflector in order for the device to be visible. To alleviate this problem, active lighting methods have been developed. The active lighting methods use a light internal to the device which does not require external light to provide the safety or aesthetic light desired.
In order to operate these active lighting devices, it is necessary to turn on the light source using some type of switching mechanism. Switching mechanisms for active lighting devices consist of manual switching methods and automatic switching methods. Automatic switching methods which have been developed, however, have not resulted in a predictable and reliable method to turn on the lighting source when light is desired. This lack of reliability is due to the fact that different types of movement may be used to activate the light, requiring different kinds of sensing means. Additionally, automatic switches have not allowed lighting devices to automatically remain lit, even when the sensing means is not being actuated (such as when a bike rider is at a stop sign). The ability to keep the illumination device lit is juxtaposed against the ability of the device to maintain the longevity of the device's power supply. Existing active lighting devices have not addressed either of these concerns adequately. There exists a continuing need for a reliable active illumination reflective apparatus to provide visible light for both safety and aesthetic reasons which conserves its power while it operates automatically.